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Wicked Weed growing; Piney Mountain apartments advance

Wicked Weed Brewing will add about 29,000 square feet to its 40,000-square-foot brewery in Enka. Unlike the brewery's downtown tasting rooms and restaurants, the Enka facility is not open to the public.

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Wicked Weed Brewing will add about 29,000 square feet to its 40,000-square-foot brewery in Enka. Unlike the brewery's downtown tasting rooms and restaurants, the Enka facility is not open to the public. However, the expansion demonstrates the continued fast-paced growth of the 4-year-old brewery.

Wicked Weed broke ground on the Enka production facility about two years ago. The new space allowed it to ramp up production to 50,000 barrels per year and hire about 80 people.

The expansion will create six to eight additional jobs at the 210-person company and provide space for new fermenters and storage, said co-owner Rick Guthy.

"It allows us to make more beer because one of the issues with being in the brewing business is the more beer you make, the more space you have to store it," he said. "We'll be able to run our canning and bottling lines longer and make more shifts."

The addition, tucked away from public view in the Enka Commerce Park off Sand Hill Road, is scheduled for May completion, Guthy said.

The expansion had to be approved by the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment, which held its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday. Staff noted the brewery fits the character of the industrial area, and the board unanimously approved the permit the company requested.

The Encore apartment complex, comprising 232 market-rate apartments on Piney Mountain, also advanced after the developer presented details of the project to the board, which approved them unanimously.

The four buildings that will form the apartment complex off Piney Mountain Drive just east of the Asheville city limits will measure 62 feet in height, which is taller than the current zoning allows. The development team said taller buildings have smaller footprints, keeping disruption of the mountainside to a minimum.

“It allows us to keep much more land that’s undisturbed, trees, land for hikes," said Marcus McCall, a partner in Greenville-based development firm McCall Capital. "Someone who lives at our community has 21 acres in their backyard that they can hike and enjoy."

Marcus said the studio, one- and two-bedroom units are "not low income" and said rents would be comparable with other area apartment complexes.

Neighbors raised concerns about traffic, wildlife and crime.

"We have eagles and we have hawks, so please keep that in mind. I love those animals," said Anne Serpa, who lives at the end of the dead-end road in Pine Cliff Condominiums. "I’m hoping that this is not going to built up later on."

The developers do not have plans to build on the steep, upper portions of the mountain, where ridgetop protection laws limit what can be built there. Changes to their plans would require additional Board of Aldermen approval.

The board noted the city of Asheville maintains Piney Mountain Drive, and the developer will have to complete a traffic study with the city and the N.C. Department of Transportation to figure out what the road can handle.